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Mandumine
Baseline humans dominate much of the eastern edge of the continent. Closer to the center lies Shekami tribal land and the expansive Padishah. Sandwiched between the Technocratic Commonwealth, the Padishah, and two full Frontier Legions stands the loose conglomeration of Mandumine. The blasted wasteland hides riches beneath the sands, both mineral wealth and hidden history of the world before humanity’s awakening. Giants of the Frontiers Human races vary by faith and feature, but the giants dwelling in Mandumine a far cry from the stature of other branches of mankind. Truly massive in stature and density, the giant men stand anywhere from eight to nine feet tall. Rust color eyes and hair contrast with gunmetal grey skin, further separating them from the baseline human form. Their nature is equally alien to many of the other forms of humanity. While the ASH or Technocracy operate by order, the Mandumine humans can only be coerced into cooperation in times of stress or violence. The large stone dwellings that ring their central city were constructed in ancient times, their proclivities prevent more monolithic structures from being raised in defiance of an idea of true teamwork, by specific individuals choosing to spend their lifetimes making something new. More of a commune than civilization, Mandumine is the true center of vice in the central continent. The giant men call themselves the Kha-Tizar, separating themselves from their diminutive human cousins they call the Dha-Tizar. Subsisting on the scant farmland bordering their domain, their intelligence is only truly exploited by their subservient race, the Vhi-dar. The Vhi-dar are four foot tall servitor creatures wholly dominated by their masters. Their faces are mostly blank with the exception of two large black eyes and a narrow nostril slit. Their mouths sit under their pointed chins. Usually wearing robes in the company of outlanders, they conceal four arms connected to a humanoid torso. Bifurcated thighs split to increase weight distribution when needed. Mandumine itself is in a precarious section of the world, the Vhi-dar make their homes in the massive stone caverns beneath Mandumine city. However, the strength of the roused Kha-Tizar is fearsome. Using their servants as expendable infantry, the Kha-Tizar can unite beneath a shared threat to their existence. Operating as engineers, the giant men can put together and operate siege engines beyond the scale of ordinary human armies. When they deign to take to the field, the armored infantry is devastating while their horsebulls deliver crushing charges. Their servants outnumber them many times over, even in the field of battle, called ‘sandfleas’ by particularly adventurous Oblivionites. A land of Misfits Often hired as mercenaries, the culture in their border regions is one of prostitution, gambling, drunkenness, or indulging in various substances deemed harmful in more organized states. They run an entire stretch ringing their borders as a central location for both rogues, Fleshcrafters, or criminals but also artists, particularly avant-garde scientists, or really anyone discontented with organized society. Troublemakers are dealt with in a severe fashion, but only the worst, and it is a clear rule that no one owns what they can’t keep. A land of exiles, misfits, or the terminally bored, the larger and more developed areas are very safe as the wealthiest Kha-Tizar seek to protect their investments, while wild areas are more akin to an occasionally held civil war. They are an excessively wealthy people as a whole, but the city of Mandumine itself holds the secret of their success. Chained by its limbs, the god of the Vhi-dar is kept in perpetual confinement within the central mountain. Constant chants and songs of praise keep it unmoving, as well as the secret mural depicting Kha-Tizar history enchanting its sleep. When the god pulls upon its chains, the chains themselves pull the massive ‘bell of the forgotten’. As the deafening ring of the bell ripples across the city, every Kha-Tizar is required to offer a dead word and arm themselves for destiny. This is a rare occurrence and the dead words themselves have proven more than capable of lulling their prisoner into a narrative concocted by the ancestors. Their vice is expanding, new ‘ranches’ chocked full of everything expected by the Kha-Tizar have popped up in the frontier. Concerns over corrupted priests performing lobotomy rites on regular humans prompts investigation from the ASH and Technocracy. It is well-known that the giant men are slavers but investigation is hampered by their secretive and decentralized nature. War is unlikely, the ASH are unwilling to empower the Frontier Legions and the TC is still recovering from their recent loss. More religious elements call them a reflection of sin, the rackets operated by the Kha-Tizar are aided by willing humans and Broodmothers in the lands past Mandumine itself as their servitors usually cannot leave their bound god.